I hadn't watched it but thanks to this I am gonna watch it now.
Netflix Takes Down Episode of Hasan Minhaj’s Show in Saudi Arabia
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Re: Netflix Takes Down Episode of Hasan Minhaj’s Show in Saudi Arabia
#42This is so reprehensible! They must champion political freedom fighters! They should've let their business in Saudi Arabia to go down to make a big statement.
Please don't post unsubstantive comments here, and especially not flamebait.
Re: Netflix Takes Down Episode of Hasan Minhaj’s Show in Saudi Arabia
#43Re: Netflix Takes Down Episode of Hasan Minhaj’s Show in Saudi Arabia
#44Not that it makes it any better, but they only took down the episode in Saudi Arabia, not globally. The headline makes it sound like they took down the episode altogether.
Alright, we edited the title to clarify that.
Re: Netflix Takes Down Episode of Hasan Minhaj’s Show in Saudi Arabia
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
Free speech doesn't make sense if you aren't a democracy. Public speech the government officially disagrees with is incitement of rebellion. In a democracy, there isn't this existential threat to the country. Given that you are a dictatorship, regulating speech to avoid insurrection is morally right. > And the consensus seems to be "No." Consensus is completely irrelevant when answering a moral question, unless it in…
Hey, let's not overstep and say that dictators are "morally right" to stop free speech. Legally right, perhaps, but come now, Western democracies would laugh at saying decorators keeping peace is "moral". In fact, they'd argue the opposite. That dictators should morally step down and cede power to the people.
You are not in charge of “overstepping.” If dictators don’t stop free speech, a revolution will happen, and the country will go to shit. I have already given the precondition that the country is a dictatorship.
We have the U.S.S.R., Arab Spring, and the French Revolution as fine examples of the country going to shit.
If you’re a dictator and want to transition your country to democracy (I’m not sure why you’d call that morally good, but let’s go with it), you don’t make the first thing you do to allow free speech. Free speech shouldn’t come until after you have elections.
Re: Netflix Takes Down Episode of Hasan Minhaj’s Show in Saudi Arabia
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Not that it makes it any better That makes it substantially better.
How? It's still censorship.
This must be a facetious comment. You don't see how it being only banned in Saudi Arabia is not as bad as Saudi Arabia complaining and having it taken down worldwide?
Plus, Saudia Arabia is not known as a bastion of personal liberty. But that's besides the point; they are completely entitled to perform censorship within their own borders. It's simply your opinion (which I happen to agree with, but it is not a fact nonetheless) that it's bad for them to have censored it within their own country.
Re: Netflix Takes Down Episode of Hasan Minhaj’s Show in Saudi Arabia
#47First time I've heard of the show. I watched about 20 minutes ... pretty good. The style reminds me of Samantha B ... political commentary sprinkled with humor.
> political commentary sprinkled with humor. I think you're right about their shows, but both Hasan Minhaj and Samantha Bee are comedians, so why are we entrusting political commentary to comedians?
Because much of the best comedy is about real life, which often involves politics.
Re: Netflix Takes Down Episode of Hasan Minhaj’s Show in Saudi Arabia
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not unreasonable for a sovereign country to exercise control over legal media in its territory. It might not be just, or fair, for residents of that country, but it is reasonable.
A government exercising control over the media in its country is a very clear-cut violation of the value of free-speech. The moral question is whether American companies should help foreign governments shut down free-speech. Just like google in China. And the consensus seems to be "No."
It’s not all or nothing. While a takedown is bad (and illustrative of some real problems in Saudi.) Netflix having a presence in Saudi let’s them spread their media and worldview into that country/culture. Unilaterally disengaging just gives Saudi people less access to a roughly liberal and western source of culture.
What we (speaking as a fan of western still liberalism and rule of law) in the west need is to be better able to provide a full throated explanation and defense of our principles and value prop. There seems to be a very real movement toward an alternative authoritarian world view based on the promise of prosperity and stability through social control, social control that takes full advantage of the enormous surveillance and monitoring capabilities of modern technology.
Re: Netflix Takes Down Episode of Hasan Minhaj’s Show in Saudi Arabia
#49Question: C-Corp vs Public-Benefit companies in similar situations. As I understand it Netflix really doesn't have the option of taking a principled stand here (let me know if I'm wrong) due its financial responsibilities toward shareholders. If they had incorporated as a public-benefit corporation would they have additional freedom to say "We won't participate in this market on ethical grounds?"
There is no law (in any jurisdiction, as far as I know) that states a corporation must relentlessly pursue profits. An owner is free to stay out of markets for moral or other reasons without any strategic or financial justification. The only thing stopping them would be other shareholders who disagree. Private, public, public-benefit, etc... doesn't matter.
How does this square with the principle of shareholder primacy and Dodge v Ford?